Should You Buy a Super Top-up Health Insurance Policy?

When you buy an insurance plan, there is often a concern in mind about the adequacy of the coverage. Choosing the right coverage becomes all the more crucial when it is about the well-being of your loved ones. When you are planning to buy health insurance for your family, you may always want to opt for higher coverage. However, higher coverage means a higher premium.

Have you been wanting to enhance your health insurance coverage but have been constrained by its load on your pocket? Health insurance top-ups can be the ideal solution. Here’s how.

Understanding Top-up Plans in Health Insurance

Let’s take a look at this example to understand why health insurance top-up plans are essential. 35-year-old Ramesh Verma is hospitalised, and the medical bill totals ₹15 lakhs. While he has a health insurance plan, it only covers ₹10 lakhs. What about the remaining ₹5 lakhs? Ramesh would have to bear it from his own pocket. This is where a top-up policy proves invaluable. It could act as an add-on to Ramesh’s existing coverage, offering a higher sum insured for a significantly lower premium. It is a smart way to bridge the gap and protect his finances.

A top-up health insurance plan, therefore, acts as supplementary coverage for your base health plan. It covers the gap that may arise between your actual coverage and the hospital bill. Offered by most health insurance providers, such plans are available at competitive rates. They can protect your finances in case you or an insured family member requires expensive hospitalisation. When the plan comes into play, it reduces your out-of-pocket expenses. Thus, without worrying about the hospital bills, you can concentrate on getting high-quality care/ treatment.

When you are thinking of opting for a top-up plan, you must make sure you understand the concept of a deductible. A deductible, an important aspect of a top-up plan, is the fixed amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance starts covering expenses. When you select a higher deductible, it helps decrease your premium but increases initial costs during claims.

Super Top-up Health Insurance

A super top-up policy comes into play only after you’ve exhausted your base health insurance limit. For example, if you have a ₹10 lakh policy and use it all due to multiple hospitalisations, the super top-up will come into play. However, to utilise a super top-up, you must either have a base policy or cover the expenses out of pocket up to a pre-decided limit, also called the deductible, set during purchase. It’s always wiser to ensure financial protection without dipping into personal savings.

Simply put, a super top-up plan works according to the deductible you choose. Once the deductible limit is crossed, any additional expenses are covered by the insurance company. For instance, with a ₹50 lakh policy (₹10 lakh base cover + ₹40 lakh super top-up), your medical expenses up to ₹50 lakh are covered, offering comprehensive financial protection.

Tip: As a policyholder, you have the option of purchasing a health insurance top-up plan from a different health insurer. However, It is often recommended that you have both the base policy and super top-up health insurance with the same insurer for seamless claim processing.

Should You Buy a Super Top-up Health Insurance Policy?

With the medical inflation soaring, enhancing your health insurance coverage may be the best way forward. Even if you are someone who is under the cover of a group insurance plan, you can consider opting for a super top-up over and above the existing coverage. Group health insurance typically offers modest coverage, which may not be adequate in case an expensive/ prolonged treatment is required.

You may consider the option of investing in a health plan with a higher sum insured, keeping in mind the ease of a claim settlement. But keep in mind that it will be heavier in your pocket. A super top-up plan, on the other hand, will prove to be more cost-effective. Let us now understand the reason behind this low premium.

Insurers offer top-up/ super top-up health insurance plans only when you, the policyholder, pay the deductible amount. You need to pay the decided deductible amount before you can file a claim under the super top-up plan.

Top-Up or Super Top-up Health Insurance Policy?

Super top-up health insurance plans are usually considered to be more useful than a regular top-up plan. While top-up plans consider the deductible for every claim, a super-top typically considers the aggregate claim in that year for the claim to be triggered.

Let’s understand with an example.

  1. You have a total health insurance coverage of ₹50 lakhs (₹10 lakh base cover + ₹40 lakh top-up), or
  2. You have a total health insurance coverage of ₹50 lakhs (₹10 lakh base cover + ₹40 lakh super top-up).

Let’s see some claim scenarios.

Base PlanTop-Up PlanSuper Top-Up Plan
Claim 1- ₹ 10 lakhs₹ 10 lakhsNot activatedNot activated
Claim 2- ₹ 5 lakhsNIL (because the amount is already exhausted)Not activated because the deductible is ₹ 10 lakhs for each claim. So, payout = 0Activated. ₹ 5 lakhs would be paid.
Claim 3- ₹ 15 lakhsNIL (because the amount is already exhausted)Activated. ₹ 5 lakhs would be paid because there is a deductible of ₹ 10 lakhs for each claim.Activated in the previous claim. So, the entire amount of ₹ 15 lakhs would be paid.
Claim 4- ₹ 2 lakhsNIL (because the amount is already exhausted)Not activated because the deductible is ₹ 10 lakhs for each claim. So, payout = 0Activated. ₹ 2 lakhs would be paid.

So, it makes more sense to opt for a super top-up plan than a top-up plan, even if that is slightly more expensive.

However, do keep in mind that super top-up plans could also come with a limit on the room rent. There can be a mandatory waiting period, which you might have to serve. Also, remember that such plans usually might not offer benefits such as restoration benefits or no claim bonus.

Conclusion

With the country’s medical inflation at an all-time high, it is quite possible that your health insurance sum may soon be outpaced. It is, therefore, highly advised that you invest in a suitable super top-up health insurance plan that can boost your base cover. While there is the option of buying another health insurance plan, keep in mind that it will also increase your premium significantly. A super top-up plan is, thus, Jio Insurance Broking offers one of the most affordable ways to enhance your existing coverage.

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